Man charged in Metra cop's murder

January 05, 2009

Slain Metra Police Officer Thomas Cook (family photo)

For more than two years, the fatal shooting of Thomas Cook, a police officer for Metra, had remained a mystery, but today authorities charged one of two suspects and alleged that Cook was killed for his gun.

Jeremy Lloyd, 20, of Gary acted as a lookout while an accomplice shot the officer in the back of the head at point-blank range and stole his service weapon, authorities alleged. Lloyd was ordered held without bail on three counts of murder. Authorities gave no explanation for why the alleged gunman was not charged today.

Cook's brother, Robert, a Cook County sheriff's deputy, said the family was relieved by Lloyd's arrest and looked forward to his trial.

"We're happy it's got to this point," he said. "We've gotten to first base; we're just to the bond hearing. Home plate is the sentencing."

Thomas Cook had been a Riverdale police officer for nine years but left for the Metra police force in 2003 because he thought it would be safer.

Shortly before 10 p.m. on Sept. 27, 2006, Cook, 43, married and the father of two young children, was sitting in his marked Metra squad car conducting surveillance near the crime-ridden Metra Electric Line station at 147th Street in Harvey.

Lloyd and his accomplice had lost weapons during a shootout with a Harvey police officer early that morning, authorities alleged. As they walked down an alley near the train station, they talked about how they needed to "do a lick [robbery] to get another gun," Assistant State's Atty. Joe Kosman said in court.

Kosman said the accomplice suggested they rob a Metra cop, reasoning that a police officer would be sure to have a weapon. While Lloyd looked for other police, the accomplice walked up to the driver's side window of Cook's car, shot him twice in the head and stole his .357-caliber semiautomatic handgun, Kosman said.

A witness met the accomplice later that night and traded a weapon for Cook's gun, officials said. The officer's gun was recovered in Robbins in August 2007 and traced back to that witness, Kosman said.

Lloyd also told a second person to watch the news for a police officer shooting in Harvey, and when the person later confronted him about the news reports, Lloyd allegedly admitted his role in the slaying, authorities said.

Both Lloyd and his alleged accomplice are in Cook County Jail awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm stemming from the shootout with the Harvey police officer hours before Cook's murder.

Jemetric Nicholson, 21, of Harvey, was charged with Lloyd in the attempted murder of the Harvey officer, court records show. He is awaiting trial on nearly a dozen violent crimes, including an unrelated murder, attempted murders, vehicular hijacking and possessing a weapon in jail.

Robert Cook said he never stopped believing the case would be solved. "They've been as frustrated as we have because the pace hasn't been that fast," he said. "We didn't give up hope."